Alexsandria 1 - 3 Arka (388867629)

Due to an all-day shower, 49454 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Black Sea Arena. Nikos Pavlatos was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Burkhart Aichter and Przemysław Tomalik. Alexsandria decided to use a 4-3-3 set up. The following players took the field: El Ouaer - Jigauri, Gabisonia, Gjermandsen, Arnaudov - Ableitner, Gagos, Tarriño - Nishnianidze, Chitashvili, Purtseladze.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Arka. Starters: Sztark - Blomstad, Bosco, Pilishvili - Gvaramia, Tsagareishvili, Baliashvili, Mazeraud, Carlsen - Bolzonella, Lanci.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Alexsandria. Arka saw most attack opportunities on the wings. 9 minutes into the game, P. Blomstad had a great chance to put his team ahead, but his kick from the left went wide. Good work by the Alexsandria defensive line after 10 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found K. Chitashvili alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. It was a bad day for the usually speedy L. Bosco. The mud seemed to slow him down. At 21 minutes played, G. Jigauri came in from the right with the intention of giving Alexsandria the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. 23 minutes into the game, R. Mazeraud had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came I. Carod. The terraces were silenced after 26 minutes when Arka's U. Bolzonella put the guests ahead 0 - 1, following an attack on the right. 28 minutes in, Alexsandria's P. Tarriño received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Clever play that showed his experience gave K. Chitashvili a good chance to score, but the shot hit the crossbar. A drive down the left side allowed U. Bolzonella to get in close and score another goal for Arka after 40 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 2. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Arka lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. After 43 minutes, Arka raised their score by one when Z. Gvaramia's dangerous low cross was cleverly tucked in at the near post by U. Bolzonella. 0 - 3. At that, U. Bolzonella was noted down for a hat trick! The home side worked hard to get through the middle and as a result, had a good chance of getting one back as K. Chitashvili tried lifting the ball over keeper M. Sztark. Unfortunately, the ball went just over the bar. E. Dvali was called on to replace Alexsandria's U. Purtseladze after 44 minutes following a nasty collision. Halftime score was 0 - 3. Arka claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 60 percent.

The coach of Arka was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 50 minutes, J. Skalny came on for F. Lanci. As the captain was no longer on the pitch, I. Carod took over the role of being the Arka captain. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 53 minutes, Alexsandria tried a variation that they had practised in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. After 65 minutes, the Arka players received new instructions from their manager on how to keep in control of the game. The Arka coach was visibly pleased with the score so far, but still ordered a few tactical changes 70 minutes into the game. After a short break after 70 minutes, Arka seemed to change their tactical approach a bit. After 72 minutes, P. Tarriño sent the corner kick right to L. Ableitner who headed it sharply past the keeper. 1 - 3! With the scoreboard showing that 83 minutes had been played, Arka nearly put themselves up another goal after J. Skalny came through on the left. Fortunately for the home crowd, the keeper made the save. With 84 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Alexsandria resulted in a counterattack that set G. Nishnianidze free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Arka, with 61 percent of the ball.

The most dominating Alexsandria player was without a doubt G. Nishnianidze. On the other hand, S. El Ouaer's play was disheartening. P. Blomstad performed admirably for Arka. L. Bosco on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 3.